Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[willc]

On the same day as the electrification announcement, DafT apparently gave details of its regional funding allocation allowances, which as well as the ^21m for Swindon-Kemble redoubling, includes ^25.3m towards the Portishead scheme and ^12.5m for the Bristol Metro project http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/metro/2009/08/04-one-billion-investment.html

[clevedonian]

On the same day as the electrification announcement, DafT apparently gave details of its regional funding allocation allowances, which as well as the ^21m for Swindon-Kemble redoubling, includes ^25.3m towards the Portishead scheme and ^12.5m for the Bristol Metro project http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/metro/2009/08/04-one-billion-investment.html

so is that enough to reopen the portishead line!

I would be over the moon if they did

[willc]

On the same day as the electrification announcement, DafT apparently gave details of its regional funding allocation allowances, which as well as the ^21m for Swindon-Kemble redoubling, includes ^25.3m towards the Portishead scheme and ^12.5m for the Bristol Metro project http://www.railnews.co.uk/news/metro/2009/08/04-one-billion-investment.html

so is that enough to reopen the portishead line!

I would be over the moon if they did

not quite enough, I believe Network Rail recently costed it at about ^30m, but I suppose the government is hoping it can nudge the local authorities and/or NR^» (Network Rail - home page) and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) into bridging the gap

[anthony215]

it should cost ^30 million to re-open the portishead line since all they need to do is install new signalling and build a few new stations although there may be a problem if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have not got any trains to run the service.

Anyway i do hope the portishead line is re-opened as can bee seen across in wales how good the recently opened Ebbw Vale line is ( Too good in my opinions, trains are often full even with 4 carriages)

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Clevedon Mercury:

Rail report gives boost to Portishead line prospects

Rail chiefs have given new hope to campaigners in Portishead.  (The) publication of Network Rail's 10-year plan to expand rail services in the West has been welcomed by the Portishead Railway Group.

The 190-page report makes extensive mention of Portishead and shows rail bosses' thinking on how services from Portishead would fit into the network.

Portishead Railway Group chairman Alan Matthews said he is encouraged by the report. He said: "It is another piece in the jigsaw towards reopening the line. There is still a long way to go but the position has changed an awful lot in the last 18 months. I think back to then and the language used by the rail industry was very much 'if it will ever happen', whereas now they seem to be planning for 'when it happens'." He said North Somerset Council making the decision to promote the line had given the campaign credibility within the industry.

Network Rail, the owner and operator of the tracks, signals and other rail infrastructure, has produced the report, Great Western Route Utilisation Strategy, on behalf of the whole rail industry. The report presents various options for services to Portishead if the Government decides to meet the cost of reopening the line. The report doesn't just look at a service between Portishead and Bristol Temple Meads, via Pill, Ashton Gate, Parson Street and Bedminster. It also considers cross-Bristol services such as options for Portishead to Gloucester or Yate, to Temple Meads, Filton Abbey Wood and Bristol Parkway, or Portishead to Westbury, Wiltshire, via Temple Meads, Bath and Trowbridge.

Other elements of the report look at major schemes at London Paddington, Reading and Swindon to cope with a 31 per cent increase in passengers on the Great Western in the next 10 years. It also suggests longer trains on services between Cardiff and Taunton, increasing space on overcrowded trains serving Yatton and Nailsea and Backwell.

Reopening the Portishead branch line is now being promoted by North Somerset Council, which earlier this year commissioned Network Rail to carry out a separate ^164,000 feasibility study into reopening the line. North Somerset executive responsible for transport, Elfan Ap Rees, said that report was 'about a month' from completion. He said: "Network Rail have certainly been carrying out very detailed work on this."

It is stage three of an eight-stage process to reopen closed railway lines, but stage six is actually physically laying tracks, so the key stages are three, four and five when decisions are made on funding and route options.

The scheme is part of a wider West of England Partnership bid to secure government funding under the government's Transport Innovation Fund. The South West Regional Development Agency has also submitted a bid for ^25 million as a contribution to the scheme as part of its medium term commitments for 2014 ^ 2019.

[Chris from Nailsea]

By the way - and I'm sorry if it's rather old news now - (Network Rail - home page)/rdonlyres/4C5E709A-5D12-4B02-81E4-A8FCAFD06C81/0/report_200808_NSCPortisheadRailLineStudyFinalReport.pdf" target="_blank">the full Halcrow report for North Somerset Council is available online.

Actually, I only found it while 'digging' for something else, but as it hasn't been posted here previously, I hope it is of some use, to someone, at least! 

[John R]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Plans to re-connect Portishead in North Somerset to the passenger rail network are due to move a step closer.

Network Rail is to carry out a study into how feasible it would be to put the line back in service and to build a new railway station.

The section under the spotlight is three miles of line from Portbury Docks into Portishead town centre.

It has remained closed since 1964 despite a vociferous local campaign to get it reinstated.

The study, costing some ^164,000, will look at potential engineering problems, any conflicts with the freight-only service which operates along the first part of the route to Portbury Docks and the cost of reopening a full passenger service.

Deputy leader of North Somerset Council Elphin Ap Rees said the study is "an important step forward" towards trying to improve the transport infrastructure of Portishead.

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/7855254.stm

Does anyone know what has become of this report? A search on the North Somerset website drew a complete blank.

Is it reasonable for a GRIP^▸ (Guide to Railway Investment Projects) 3 survey to take nearly a year, particularly if someone else is funding it? 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Clevedon Mercury on 3 September 2009:

Reopening the Portishead branch line is now being promoted by North Somerset Council, which earlier this year commissioned Network Rail to carry out a separate ^164,000 feasibility study into reopening the line. North Somerset executive responsible for transport, Elfan Ap Rees, said that report was 'about a month' from completion. He said: "Network Rail have certainly been carrying out very detailed work on this."

 

[John R]

A long month then....

[Chris from Nailsea]

 

Happy New Year! 

[Chris from Nailsea]

From Rail-News.com:

Bristol rail link may be worked by buses

Rail campaigners fear that plans to open the Bristol to Portishead line to passenger services could be abandoned in favour of buses.

A planning blueprint, called the Core Strategy,  produced by North Somerset Council states that the council will promote the opening of the route, but that services may be worked by buses as part of a rapid transit system.

The Greater Bristol Transport Alliance and pressure group South West Transport Network have objected to the idea of running buses instead of trains, with SWTN saying that upgrading the line for passenger use would have a ripple effect on other rail routes around Bristol.

A spokesman for NSC said said that the council are committed to introducing a transport link between Portishead and Bristol, but that there were other options apart from  ^hard rail^  and that  ^a rapid transit scheme that runs every 15 minutes might provide a much better and cheaper solution than a train service that runs every hour.^

Talks are in progress between NSC and Network Rail

[Super Guard]

So are these going to be flying buses that avoid all the congestion and traffic chaos that is Portishead to Bristol at present? 

[JayMac]

Can't quite see what is wrong with an hourly off peak service, or maybe a '3 every 2' similar to the SVB Line. As long as the peaks are adequately catered for then I don't see the need for a 15 min rapid (yeah right!) bus service as opposed to a less frequent rail service. The current inbound morning peak bus services take anything up to 90 minutes to complete the journey from Portishead, hardly attractive to commuters. A little tinkering with bus lanes and priority junctions might bring this down a bit but will never make a great deal of difference.

As Donkey Guard rightly points out the traffic between Portishead and Central Bristol is a nightmare during the rush hours, and I fail to see how or where an improved bus service can be shoe-horned in.

[John R]

Meanwhile, the WAG^» (Welsh Assembly Government - about) are moving ahead with plans to extend the Ebbw Vale line and (more uncertainly at the moment) run trains into Newport.

http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/gwentnews/4859629.Residents_welcome_Ebbw_Vale_station_plans/

Though to be honest, it should all have been done at the outset.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Weston & Somerset Mercury:

A detailed report due to be completed this year is expected to reveal the exact cost of opening a passenger rail link between Portishead and Bristol.

The report will be carried out by Network Rail and campaigners are hopeful that its conclusions will be within the costs expected for such a project.

The line running from Portbury Dock into Bristol is currently used for freight trains, which run at up to 30mph. To make it suitable for passenger trains, which travel at speeds of up to 60mph, the line would need major work carried out to realign the track.

Work would also be needed to improve the drainage and tracks at Pill tunnel.

Costs to re-open the railway were estimated by Halcrow, the consultants appointed by North Somerset Council in 2008, to be in the region of ^15 million.

However, the amount of government funding the project has applied for is ^28 million.

So, although Network Rail have suggested costs could be nearer to ^24 million, this still falls within the funding figure.

Chairman of Portishead Railway Group Alan Matthews said: "When Network Rail has completed its detailed inspection and analysis, it will draw up accurate costings. Until this time I don't think anyone needs to panic about possible escalation of costs."